Support surfaces are commonly used for roadways, remote jobsites, industrial staging areas, spill containment areas and/or other purposes in an ever-increasing myriad of industries, such as construction, military, energy (e.g. pipeline, oilfield, etc.), mining, chemical, transportation, disaster response, utilities and entertainment. The support surfaces are often formed with one or more ground covers, or support mats.
In some instances, it is necessary or desirable to provide apparatus and methods for electrically grounding at least a portion of the support surface. For example, an electrically-grounded support surface may be used in an “equipotential zone” (EPZ) or other high voltage area. The EPZ is an arrangement typically designed so that dangerous electric potential differences do not appear across the body of a person working on or near ground-based machinery. An EPZ is often used during projects that involve working in close proximity to an energized power line. For example, in performing overhead power line (OHL) projects, the EPZ may prevent the installation crew from being subject to an electric shock caused by, for example, a circuit flash from the energized line to the conductors being worked on. In the EPZ, the equipment and personnel are typically on a support surface that is electrically conductive and grounded to provide one or more designated paths for large electrical voltages to flow.
When an electrically-conductive support surface is used (whether in an EPZ or any other area or site), the electrical current flowing through the electrically-conductive support surface can become significant and generate significant heat. In some situations, there may be sufficient heat to damage the surface or structure underneath the electrically-conductive portion(s) of the support surface and/or cause other undesirable problems or consequences. Many presently know systems and techniques for electrically grounding a support surface do not include an effective mechanism for protecting the underlying surface(s) or structure(s) (e.g. ground covers or mats) from excessive heat generated by electric current flowing through the electrically-conductive portion(s).
It should be understood that the above-described features, capabilities and disadvantages are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope or subject matter of the appended claims or those of any related patent application or patent. Thus, none of the appended claims or claims of any related application or patent should be limited by the above discussion or construed to address, include or exclude each or any of the above-cited features, capabilities or disadvantages merely because of the mention thereof herein.
Accordingly, there exists a need for improved systems, articles and methods useful in connection with providing an electrically groundable support surface having one or more of the attributes or capabilities described or shown in, or as may be apparent from, the various portions of this patent application.